Recessed lighting fixture



J n? 1, 1954 F. E. WEBB RECESSED LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed March 11, 1950 INVENTOR. Erie I'd/5L5 Fran c'z's Patented June 1, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RECESSED LIGHTING FIXTURE Francis Erle Webb, Portland, Oreg. Application March 11, 1950, Serial No. 149,065

2 Claims.

My invention relates to lighting fixtures which are designed for recessed mounting in ceilings and walls, and has for its particular object the provision of mounting brackets which permit such fixture to be fixed initially in place so that the weight thereof can be supported, thus to eliminate the hazard of said fixture being dropped before it is securely mounted.

My invention is particularly useful in connection with installation in ceilings where said fixtures must be mounted overhead. It is essential that said fixtures seat flush in the ceiling opening, and thus close attention must be made to arrange the fixture to register with the opening provided. The fixture must then be pushed firmly into place and secured by screws or other fastening devices.

The object of my invention is attained by providing said fixture with a plurality of projecting brackets or legs having slots formed therein for engaging studs or fastening screws which may be loosely located in place. Each of said brackets has a spring-like keeper overlying a keyhole slot. The brackets may be aligned with the screws and the fixture pushed approximately into place where the heads of the screws or other studs will slide into said keyhole slots and be held in engagement by the action of said keepers. The fixture then is supported by said studs and the fastening devices may thereafter be adjusted until the fixture is arranged in correct position with its receptacle in the wall or ceiling opening to fix it in final position.

A further and more specific object of my invention is to provide a fixture of this type with a lens which may be loosely held within an annular frame, and when the fitting is initially arranged in place, said lens can be removed and access can be had through the lens opening to perform the necessary work to fix said fixture into place. Thereafter the lens may be slipped in edgewise through its opening and it will lie loosely upon its supporting flange, in which it will be restrained against substantial lateral movement.

A further and more specific object of my invention is to provide a lighting fixture in which the parts are adjustable to conform to any thickness of wall finish without permitting a light leak between said wall and the fixture when the latter is in place.

A further object of my invention is to provide a fixture of this character having a relatively wide, overlying marginal flange concealing the area about the rough receptacle, which flange may be made quite thin but well reinforced so that it will not become distorted, sag, or be bent to disturb the desired face to face flush abutment with said wall surface.

Further and other specific features of my in vention are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a vertical section through a receptacle with a fixture embodying my invention shown seated in place therein, said section being taken on the line Il in Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a similar vertical section, but taken perpendicular thereto, taken on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 3 is a more or less schematic sectional detail, showing the manner in which a bracket initially engages the head of a fastening stud, flexing the keeper to permit the stud head to enter the slot formed in said bracket;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing said stud after it has entered the slot, and the keeper has snapped back to prevent the withdrawal of the bracket from said stud; and

Fig. 5 is a similar schematic detail, showing finally fixed said bracket the manner in which the bracket is and held in place by said stud when is arranged in its final position.

A lighting fixture embodying my invention is adapted to be received within a receptacle l, termed in the electrical trade as a rough-in box. It is recessed into a wall or ceiling, usually lying between studs or other framing elements 2. Said rough-in box is usually placed in position in new construction before plaster or other surfacing material is applied to the walls or ceilings. It is installed by the electrical trade and thus without knowledge of the thickness of the material which will be used for finishing said wall or ceiling. Said finishing material might vary in thickness from one-eighth inch to one inch. It is necessary, in order to make a smooth edge, that the open mouth I a of the receptacle lie in the exposed plane of the finish. To accommodate this adjustment for varying thicknesses, I provide a pair of mounting flanges 3 at opposite sides of the receptacle, being joined thereto by adjusting screws 4. Said screws pass through elongated holes 5 in the opposite walls of said receptacle, and said holes are elongated sulficiently to accommodate the difference in thickness of the selected finishing material to be used for the wall surface. 'Thus, after a selected wall finishing material 6 is applied, the mouth of the receptacle is adjusted by means of said screws to lie exactly flush with the surface 6a, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and -2 of the drawings.

The fixture is wired roughly, and it is at this point that the fixture embodying my invention is to be installed. Said fixtures are quite heavy, running several pounds to fifteen pounds, or more. If such a fixture is to be installed overhead in a ceiling, it has substantial weight, and usually the man installing said fixture works from a ladder or other unstable support. It requires two hands to lift said fixture, register it with the open mouth of the receptacle l, and slide it into position. It is necessary thereafter to secure the fixture in position, and this requires the installer to release one hand in order to adjust the screw or other fastening device for holding said fixture in place. This is difficult, awkward, and involves the danger of dropping the fixture.

To hold said fixture roughly in place, I provide a plurality of screws I at various places in the receptacle. In the drawings I show four of such mounting screws, and the receptacle is indicated as being rectangular. Thus one mounting screw is arranged centrally of each wall of the receptacle. A corresponding number of brackets 8 are provided projecting interiorly of the receptacle and being joined by an annular flange 9. Each screw has an enlarged head 7a and each bracket has a keyhole slot 3a terminating in an enlargement ill). The enlargement 8b is of such size as to pass the enlarged head of the screw with which it is to engage, and the remainder of said slot 3a is of sufficient width to pass the shank of said screw but to retain the head thereof. Secured to each of said brackets is a flat, leaf-type keeper iii. The free end of said keeper overlies the enlargement 8b of the bracket upon which it is mounted and spans said enlargement. The keeper is fiexible and resilient, and thus permits the entry of the head of a stud through the enlaregment but restricts the withdrawal or retraction therethrough. Each bracket preferably is of angular form, as illustrated most clearly in Figs. 3 to 5. The end 80 of each bracket which engages the annular flange 9 extends substantially normal or perpendicular to said flange, and the terminal end 8d of each bracket extends sharply oblique to the end 80, forming a corner 86. The keyhole slot in each bracket extends about said corner with the enlargement 8b on the end 801 immediately adjacent said corner, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2, with the remainder or more restricted portion of said slot extending through the end do of each bracket. Thus, when the brackets initially engage the enlarged heads la. of the screws 1, as viewed in Fig. 3, they slide easily up the sides of the receptacle and over said enlarged heads. The flat leaf-type keepers it fiex to permit the entry of said screws into the slots. Immediately after said screws have passed through the enlargements 8d, respectively, the keepers snap into place and prevent the retraction of the screws through the enlarged portion of the keyhole slot 8a., as viewed in Fig. 4. Thus, each of the brackets engages a screw and the weight of the fixture is supported by the latter, with the keepers bearing at their ends upon said screws. The fixture thus is held securely in place and there is no danger of inadvertent dropping of the fixture. The installer may then push the fixture upwardly, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, with one hand and reach through the opening in the annular flange 9 and set down the mounting screws so that the bracket will be supported substantially as is shown in Fig. 5.

My fixture is shown illustrated as utilizing an incandescent electric light H, with a reflector 12 behind it. The reflector is carried by a telescopic bar 13 supported by the ends of two opposed brackets 8. The details of the light, its support, and the manner in which it is wired are relatively important.

When the fixture is tightly in place and secured, it will be in the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The annular flange E will lie in close face to face abutment with the surface 8c. Preferably said flange has its peripheral edge bent upon a sharp radius so as to define more or less a line contact with the surface 6c of the wall finishing material. This provides a neat appearance and prevents light leaks. The wall surfaces are not truly plane and it is dimcult to mount the receptacle so that it is exactly perpendicular and square with said wall surface. It is desirable, therefore, to arrange the annular flange so that it extends outwardly beyond the mouth of the receptacle a substantial distance, and the flange preferably is made of thin metal so that it will fie: To prevent said flange from becoming bent or distorted, either during installation or after continued use, I weld a U-shaped stiffening flange id to its inner or unexposed surface. This serves not only to stiffen said flange, but also defines a well 5 for a plane lens 18. While the fixture is being installed, the lens is removed, and when the fixture has been set nicely in place, the lens can be arranged edgwise and passed diagonally through the well or frame opening into the receptacle, and may then be tipped so that it will lie fiatwise, loosely upon the frame. The proximity of the U-shaped stiffening flange restrains the lens against substantial lateral movement.

To aid in the insertion of the lens in its well, I preferably bend the upstanding portion Ma of said stiffening flange at the rim so that they are flared or funnel-shaped to aid in the insertion of said lens within the well. If the fixture is a celling fixture, the lens will be retained in place due to its own weight, but if said fixture is used in a wall, some auxiliary means must be provided, such as by catches or similar devices, to hold the lens against movement within the well.

If access must be had to the interior of the fixture, such for example as to replace a lens or an electric light, or to make rep-airs therein, this may be accomplished merely by lifting the lens, tipping it, and retracting it edgewise through the diagonal dimension of the annular flange 9. I have described said flange 9 as annular because it is ring-like. It usually is not of circular conformation, but preferably is of rectangular conformation or is square.

If for any reason the fixture is to be removed from the receptacle, this may be done by backing oil the mounting screws '5 and flexing the flat leaf-type keepers one by one so that they will extend over the enlarged heads of said mounting screws in the reverse manner to that in which the fixture was initially installed,

After the lens is in place, all fastening devices are concealed and the only thing visible is the external face of the lens and that portion of the annular flange which lies exteriorly thereof and which constitutes a trim therefor.

I claim:

1. A lighting fixture for a non-circular openmouthed receptacle adapted to be mounted in flush relation with a wall opening, said receptacle being provided with a plurality of screws having shanks with enlarged heads arranged upon the interior wall surfaces of said receptacle and projecting inwardly therefrom, said lighting fixture including an annular flange having the same non-circular peripheral outline as the open mouth of said receptacle but extending flatwise laterally thereof to overlie the margins thereof, and offset brackets carried by said flange and extending into the interior of said receptacle, each of said brackets having a keyhole slot formed therein for engaging and holding one of said screws, each of said slots having a terminal enlargement for passing the enlarged head of the screw which it engages, the remainder of each said slot being of such width as to pass the shank but retain the head of the screw companion thereto, each of said brackets being of angular conformation, the angular portions joining each other at a relatively sharp corner, the slot in each bracket extending across said corner with the enlargement at that side of the corner more distant from the annular flange and the remainder of each slot lying at the side nearer said flange.

2. A lighting fixture for an open-mouthed receptacle adapted to be mounted in flush relation with a wall opening, said receptacle being provided with a plurality of screws having shanks with enlarged heads arranged upon the interior wall surfaces of said receptacle and projecting inwardly therefrom, said lighting fixture carrying an annular flange having the same peripheral outline as the open mouth of said receptacle but extending flatwise laterally thereof to overlie the margins thereof, said flange having a peripheral edge bent back upon a uniform radius to define a light proof line contact with said wall, a plurality of supporting brackets joining and extending upwardly from said flange into the interior of said receptacle, each of said brackets having a keyhole slot formed therein for engaging and holding a receptacle screw, and a stiffening member U-shaped in vertical section joined to the inner face of said annular flange and defining a lens retaining well, said U-shaped stifiening member lying Within the peripheral boundary of said lighting fixture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,486,896 Hubbell Mar. 18, 1946 1,799,304 Logan Apr. 7, 1931 1,936,549 Crossley Nov. 21, 1933 2,116,750 Dashner May 10, 1938 2,320,621 Lefebre June 1, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 618,712 Great Britain Feb. 25, 1949 

